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May 11, 2016

Q&A Interview with James Kennedy front man of the Welsh alternative music band Kyshera

Each one of us has a story to tell and everyone we meet is fighting a battle we know nothing
about. This section “The Q & A
Interview with inspiring people” isdedicated to exceptional
personalities, who either have something to educate us or to inspire us.

Today I want you to meet James Kennedy, Label Owner, singer and front
man of the Welsh alternative music band Kyshera.James is one of the few international artists that expressed his feelings and empathy for the refugees in summer 2015 publicly. Apart from that James Kennedy is not afraid of using his voice when it comes to his political views and opinion which is rare and applaudable these days where our superficial society is more self-centered and selfish than ever before.

Kyshera (pronounced K-eye-she-ra) The Alternative Rock band is an example of the great alternative rock coming out of
the UK. The Welsh rockers Kyshera
consists of vocalist/guitaristJames
Kennedy, bassist Matt
Warr, and drummer Glyn
Bateman.

“I would personally welcome as
many Immigrants & Asylum seekers in to my home town as we could physically
accommodate!” James Kennedy

James, you are one of those
talented artists that I have discovered through Socialmedia (Twitter). What is
your opinion about the Socialmedia as an artist? Do you think it is a blessing
or a curse because people expect you to be online 24/7?

I LOVE Social Media! And I love how modern technology
has empowered all of us to bypass the traditional means of operation. I am a
very passionate ambassador for Social Media & the DiY independent ethic
across the board. Where the money comes from though is a different issue...

When did you know that Music
(especially Rock Music) is your passion and decided to do it professionally?

I've always known really. As a child I was always
obsessively recording things from the Radio, making my own albums that way and
drawing my own inlay cards and stuff! There was never any question really that
I would end up doing music! In terms of doing it professionally, that just kind
of happened gradually over time. It started out as fun & then inevitably
over the years turned into 'business' so I try to keep my focus on the
important part, which is the music!

How come that you are not a
signed Solo artist or band by a major British record company and have decided
to establish your own record company Konic Records?

Well when I first started out I was actually
approached by most of the Major Record Labels, including Sony & Warner Bros
so my initiation into the mindless beaurocracy of the music business started
pretty much right away. Since then I have signed with labels and its never
worked out well - we always ended up getting better results by ourselves, so I
decided that in order to stay active as an artist (and not just be a great idea
'on the shelf') that going Independent was the best avenue for myself & the
band. Konic Records is now a global company with partner companies in almost
every country worldwide!

Does your Label Konic Records
sign other talented and aspiring artists too? If so, how do you discover new
talents?

We do! But as a Publisher, not as a label because I
really don’t think that artists need a label anymore until they're at a certain
level. In terms of discovering artists, we get sent submissions regularly and I
am also a Band camp addict, so I've discovered a great amount of talent on
there, some of whom we've worked with to great result.

As the front man of the music
band Kyshera you travel the world and meet allot of different people from all
kinds of nationalities, cultures, religions and mentalities. What was the most
exciting experience you had on tour? Which city was your favourite place and
why?

Ah there's so many! I love seeing different cultures.
In Europe the contrast between countries is so stark because you can be in 2
different countries in one day, so you get an immediate comparison. I think one
of our best records of ours was having breakfast in Italy, doing a show in
Switzerland & having evening beers in Germany all in the same day ha ha!

You are one of the few artists
that expressed his feelings and empathy for the refugees in summer 2015
publicly via Twitter @JamesKennedyUK

, for which I’m very grateful for.As a British artist living in Cardiff what is your opinion about the
refugees, who have the desire and wish to leave war behind and start a new Life
in safety in Europe?

My opinion on that is simple - everybody seeking Asylum
or fleeing poverty, war, torture or disaster, should have free & assisted
movement to a safer country without question. It's what I would want if I was
in that situation, I would want to flee to somewhere safer with my family as
fast as I could. Immigration causes NO harm of ANY kind to the host country,
infact it has been proven an endless amount of times that Immigration actually
has a large net benefit to the host countries’ economy & culture.

The leaders of all nations know that Capitalism isn't
a durable system without a steady influx of borderline slave labour, which is
why Immigration is allowed to continue but they also use the issue to gain the
added perk of spreading fear, division & confusion among their population
so that we focus our anger on the poor & desperate and not on the powerful.
I would personally welcome as many Immigrants & Asylum seekers in to my
home town as we could physically accommodate! Anyone believing the opposite
should then stop mindlessly supporting policies which exacerbate war &
poverty around the world so that people wouldn't have the need to flee in the
first place.

For me music is the universal
language that not only brings joy and happiness but also reunites all kinds of
people around the world, while Politics and Religion divides us. What is your
goal as a performer except entertaining people with your voice and music?

I totally agree. For me, I've always used whatever
platform I may have to try and speak for those who don't have a platform - and
also to share information and a perspective that's not given by the mainstream
media. However, lately I've been more engaged in exploring more personal,
emotional & spiritual issues, such as on the last Kyshera album 'Circle'
and that's probably something which will continue for the next album.

The 61. Eurovision Song Contest
(for me THE musical highlight every year, because it reunites EUROPE) will take
place from May 10,- May 14, 2016 in Stockholm with the slogan: "Come
Together". Will you watch the show and what is your favourite Eurovision
Song of all time and why?

Ha ha I've never watched an entire Eurovision Song
Contest, it's not really for me. I've seen bits of it but to be honest, I don't
really consume any mainstream culture at all - I don't read the newspapers and
I have never owned a Television in my life. It's highly doubtful that I will
watch the Eurovision song Contest this year, unless I'm locked in a hotel room
somewhere& there's alcohol ha ha.
As for a favourite song on there, I couldn't name a single song, let alone a
favourite! I appreciate that it's good fun for people that like it though, so
I'm not knocking it, it's just not for me.

Do you see yourself as a solo
artist or with your band Kyshera ever participating in an international contest
like the ESC or the Songwriting Contest? If yes, when? If NO, why?

Nah, I can't see that ever happening for us ha ha! We
exist outside of the mainstream spectrum - thats where we like it & thats
the demographic that we speak for.

You have financed your previous
album 'Circle' in March 2015 exclusively through Crowd Funding. How was that
experience? What are you working on right now? When can your fans see you and
your band members Glyn Bateman and Matt Warr live on stage?

We did! And we're still so thankful to everyone who
Pledged so generously and made the 'Circle' album possible! It was a great
experience, having no label interference and just a direct trust between
ourselves & our fanbase - another great testament to Social Media and the
new model for artists. At the moment we're working on new material and there's
a few other things in the works too - videos and some other cool things - as
for touring, we've got a European tour as well as potential dates in the USA
and Japan still being organised but things are never an exact science in this
business so at the moment, timeframes etc are changing frequently so we're
reluctant to say too much yet incase it changes again! But there will
definitely be a lot of shows far & wide soon! ;)

One last question. What is your
Definition of Love in three words and in one sentence?

Love is Empathy, Acceptance & Thankfulness

And Love is ultimately the only thing that will save
us all.

James thank you very much for taking the time
to answer my ten questions. I hope your courage for having the voice for people
in need will be an inspiration for many other musicians to speak out and use
their voice for the voiceless. I wish
you as a solo-Artist as well as with your band Kyshera the best of luck for the
future. I hope I can see you live on stage on your next tour. :-) Keep up the good
work. God bless you and your loved ones..

If you know any inspiring personality like James, who should be discovered and promoted on my BLOG, please contact me and I will decide whether I will do a “Question and Answer Interview” and promote their work or not! Many thanks in advance and God bless. Lily

I’m a nominated Multi-Genre Author, Blogger, Artist and Publisher. I’m the Author of “Destination: Freedom” and eleven more titles. With my honest memoir I have enjoyed strong media exposure and public interest during the refugee crises in summer 2015. Placements included two features with national newspaper the Daily Mirror as well as interviews with popular British lifestyle websites Female First and Frost Magazine. I had to fight against injustice, prejudice, discrimination and social isolation for almost three decades to become who I am today. An Independent Publisher and Author with the goal to entertain and educate readers about important and eye-opening topics in our society. Check out my seasonal Free blogger magazine “Read My Mind” on my website! Social media contacts: Website: www.lilyamis.com – www.nasSima-design.com, LilyAmis.blogspot.com, nasSimadesign.blogspot.com, Twitter: @nassimadesign and @ReadMyMindMag, Youtube: sndesign2011, Facebook: @LilyAmisAuthor and @ReadMyMindMagazine. Visit my store: www.society6.com/nassimadesign.